The Case of Forgotten Time
by Aoi Dragon
Summary: Mycroft sends Sherlock an official recording of the Apollo 11 mission. Sherlock knows something is wrong with it, but he cannot figure out what it is. ONE SHOT.


**Aoi Dragon: Please read and review. I will enjoy the critique. As I am American, my mental British narrator is somewhat lacking in the knowledge of how people speak English across the pond. I did my best to reflect the voices of the characters. Enjoy!**

**The Case of Forgotten Time**

It had always bothered him – the video of the Apollo 11 mission. A small itchiness in the back of his mind always told him he had missed something important, but he could never remember what it was he was supposed to remember. This annoyed and frustrated him to no end, so he watched the clip again and again until he had every word, every movement memorized. He played the clip for the fortieth time, watching for anything strange in the background or in the static.

"Sherlock? John closed the door to their flat behind him. He had just come back from a date with Sarah, one Sherlock had opted out of to satisfy his curiosity and annoyance at the Apollo 11 video.

He paused it as he turned to his flat-mate. Sherlock observed his friend's disheveled look, and, as he glanced at the clock, knew it was late, "John." He said with a half arched eyebrow.

The doctor gave Sherlock an exasperated look, "You know very well what I – what the hell is that?" John pointed to the screen and Sherlock spun around.

On the screen was a… a thing or alien… which was absurd, but once he eliminated the impossible, what was left – no matter how unlikely – must be true. It definitely was not a human in a costume. There was no other way to describe the thing on the screen.

Sherlock leaned toward the image, fascinated and analyzing. The thing had a pale, bulbous head, concave, almost skull-like eye sockets, and an elongated jaw where there was no mouth. It wore a funerary-like suit which accentuated its large three-fingered hands that could barely be seen in the image.

That was another thing that bothered him: The image quality of this part of the video was much better, almost modern – like it had been taken with a camera phone. This was impossible, of course, since one would have to travel through time and hack into the NASA official recording of the Apollo 11 mission. Why hadn't he seen this before? This was an official restored copy he'd gotten from Mycroft (he had finally given Sherlock something interesting!). There was no reason to insert this strange image into the footage.

"I think," Sherlock turned away from the screen and then blinked in confusion. What had he been about to say? He scowled; he hated being confused. He observed John's strange expression and turned to look back at the screen upon which his friend seemed to be fixated. All of his previously forgotten thoughts flooded back to him and his scowl deepened despite his new found fascination. How could an image have the power to make him forget about it as soon as he looked away?

"Sherlock?"

"Something very strange is going on here." The detective muttered and pressed play.

"You should kill us all on sight," The thing told him in a raspy, gargled voice. Then it was gone.

"One giant leap for mankind," Neil Armstrong concluded.

"Why are you watching the Apollo 11 mission?" John asked.

Sherlock pressed stop, frustrated that he hadn't solved the mystery. He glanced at his watch and frowned. He could not remember the last five minutes, and he never forgot anything! Well, he did compartmentalize his mind in order of importance, but he never outright forgot; he had never lost time like this before he had started watching the clip.

"Sherlock, is something wrong?" John asked.

"No," Came his automatic denial, "Yes. Maybe. Something is strange about the Apollo 11 recording, but I just can't put my finger on it!" Sherlock ground out before he stood and straightened his shirt, "I'm going out." He grabbed his coat and scarf and headed towards the door.

"But it's late!" John's remark went unheeded as his flat-mate left. John sighed, turned to the kitchen, and nearly fell over at the sight of the thing from the Apollo 11 video standing in front of him, "Oh god!" John stumbled back, "What do you want?"

The thing hissed in that raspy, gargled voice John had suddenly remembered from the video, "Neither of you are ready."

The doctor scrambled to find a gun, looking away from the creature. John paused. What was he doing? He turned back to the kitchen and began to make some tea for himself, noting that his heart was beating rapidly and his soldier alertness had kicked in. Why? It was like he had just been scared so intensely that he felt his life was in danger. How could he forget something like that? What was going on? He hoped Sherlock would return soon to see if he could explain the experience.


End file.
